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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · ball · ruler · temple · rule · lash · content · nail

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. court — for sport
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. court — of a king
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — happy
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — of law
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com